A number of the best wide receivers in the entire NFL play in the AFC West. That includes arguably the current best wide receiver in the NFL -- Las Vegas Raiders superstar Davante Adams. With so many good receivers (and tight ends, quite frankly), it's going to be tough to decide which AFC West teams have the very best wide receiver rotations heading into the 2023 NFL season.
This isn't about which receivers have the best stats, at least not in every case. This is a list looking at receiver rooms from the perspective of, if you were an NFL team and you were starting a receiver room from scratch, how would you "draft" the AFC West? In 2023, it's as difficult of a discussion as you could possibly dream.
Let's rank each wide receiver rotation in the AFC West ahead of the 2023 season.
Ranking the AFC West wide receiver groups in 2023 from worst to best
4. Kansas City Chiefs
Kadarius Toney, Skyy Moore, Marquez Valdes-Scantling, Rashee Rice, Justin Watson, Justyn Ross, Richie James
The Kansas City Chiefs ranked atop our recent running back rotations list, but they get the dreaded fourth place when it comes to the wide receiver position.
With that being said, I don't think the Chiefs' wide receiver room should be considered anything but extremely dangerous.
Kadarius Toney is tremendous in the open field and after the catch. The former 2021 first-round pick out of Florida shockingly became available in a trade in just his second NFL season thanks to the New York Giants' new coaching staff simply wanting to go in a different direction. I think, outside of TE Travis Kelce, you can pencil him in as the Chiefs' WR1 this season.
Young Skyy Moore, a second-round pick in 2022, is certainly going to be on everyone's breakout player list for the 2023 campaign and understandably so. He's in line for a much bigger role in 2023 with JuJu Smith-Schuster now departed from Kansas City.
Marquez Valdes-Scantling really just is what he is at this point. He's a vertical speed threat with height and length but he's clearly a secondary option in this KC passing game. But, he's a good secondary option nonetheless.
The wild cards at this position for Kansas City that could really bump the group up beyond 2023 are rookie Rashee Rice and former Clemson star Justyn Ross. Those are two guys with size that could really be dangerous in Andy Reid's offense with extensive time on task. It wouldn't shock me if the Chiefs were bumped up at least one spot in next year's rankings.
3. Los Angeles Chargers
Keenan Allen, Mike Williams, Joshua Palmer, Quentin Johnston, Derius Davis, Jalen Guyton
The Los Angeles Chargers have a couple of absolutely outstanding receivers in Keenan Allen and Mike Williams who have both really thrived with Justin Herbert throwing them passes. The primary issue is, those guys have had their share of struggles staying healthy. As a result, Austin Ekeler has absorbed a lot more of the team's targets in the passing game.
Allen is a technician from the slot who can get open against anyone despite not having elite speed. He's crafty as a route runner, he's got good size, and some of the strongest hands in the league.
Mike Williams is an absolute freak of nature when it comes to winning downfield contested catches. He knows how to use his frame to his advantage, and his efficiency on a per-target basis has seemingly just gotten better with time.
Williams turns 29 this year and Keenan Allen turned 31 in the Spring, and with their age in mind, the Chargers went out in the first round of the 2023 NFL Draft and selected Quentin Johnston of TCU. Another big-bodied receiver, the Chargers clearly plan on throwing the ball above everyone else as much as possible going forward. While there's a lot to like about Johnston's game, I think it's fair to say the Chargers also could have gotten better players when they were up to pick in round one, specifically at the receiver position.
Josh Palmer actually led all Chargers receivers last year with 72 receptions, but it didn't really feel like a true breakout year for the former third-round pick. Palmer could have taken a much bigger leap forward with all the injury issues going on with Keenan Allen and Mike Williams, but it felt like they were force-feeding him the ball more than anything else.
Derius Davis and Jalen Guyton couldn't be more different in terms of their size, but those are two players who add long speed to the mix for this otherwise just big group of receivers.
2. Denver Broncos
Jerry Jeudy, Courtland Sutton, Tim Patrick, Marvin Mims, KJ Hamler, Marquez Callaway
The more I look at every AFC West team at the wide receiver position, the more I tend to like the Denver Broncos' group the most. I don't know that anyone's top three rivals the Broncos, but the Raiders have Davante Adams, so there's that.
But I think if you were asking which group I'd take out of all four, I would probably choose the Denver Broncos at least for this season. The Broncos have a unique combination of players here. They have guys with speed (Mims, Hamler), they have guys with tremendous size (Sutton, Patrick, Callaway) and they have arguably the best route runner in the NFL -- Jerry Jeudy.
Jeudy is always open, and he's one of the NFL's most underrated players after the catch. I think he's in line for a huge breakout year in 2023 under new head coach Sean Payton, who has obviously been known through the years for being able to maximize talent.
Courtland Sutton is coming off of a down year but he's done enough in the NFL to warrant a lot of respect as a low-end WR1 type when it comes to game-planning against the Broncos.
Tim Patrick was out all of last season, and his absence was felt in a variety of ways. The Broncos will be ecstatic to have his size, strong hands, and tremendous downfield blocking back in the lineup.
Marvin Mims and KJ Hamler are the wild cards of this group. If both of those guys can stay healthy, I think we're going to see an extremely dynamic offense for the Denver Broncos in 2023. They have game-altering speed and downfield playmaking skills.
Marquez Callaway had an outstanding year with the Saints in 2021 but wasn't used the same way at all in 2022 when Sean Payton wasn't around. if he can get back to his 2021 self, the Broncos might end up having the deepest group of receivers in the league, provided they can stay healthy. That has been a major obstacle in recent years.
1. Las Vegas Raiders
Davante Adams, Jakobi Meyers, Hunter Renfrow, Tre Tucker, DeAndre Carter, Keelan Cole, Phillip Dorsett
The Las Vegas Raiders have the best group of receivers in the AFC West right now, although I think there's obviously a very heavy top end here with Davante Adams in the mix. If you were to be "drafting" these wide receiver units, I think a lot of people would take the Raiders off the board first simply because of Adams, and that's fair.
While Davante Adams is arguably the best receiver in the NFL right now, I don't think the Raiders have a bunch of scrubs behind him on the depth chart.
Hunter Renfrow, when healthy, is one of the best and most feared slot receivers in the game. He had over 1,000 yards in 2021 and made the Pro Bowl before dealing with injuries and being limited to just 10 games in 2022. I think he'll bounce back nicely in 2023 for the Raiders.
Las Vegas went out in 2023 NFL free agency and landed former Patriots receiver Jakobi Meyers to pair with Davante Adams. Meyers has become a really reliable player who can play both inside and out, but have we seen his 'ceiling' in the NFL already?
I'm not sure Meyers is going to become this year's version of Christian Kirk -- a receiver who was borderline overpaid in free agency only to prove everyone wrong during the season -- but he could be.
The Raiders have assembled some interesting depth behind their top three guys, starting with the explosive and speedy third-round pick Tre Tucker out of Cincinnati. A lot of people were shocked to see Tucker go before his teammate, Tyler Scott, in this year's draft, but what's done is done and he's going to add speed to the Raiders' WR rotation in 2023.
The Raiders also signed veteran DeAndre Carter, formerly of the Chargers, who will not only give them another vertical option in the passing game but one of the league's best return men as well.